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Thread: Fretting hand technique

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    Default Fretting hand technique

    So I've recently been practicing my left hand technique and trying to improve my economy of motion. One useful tip I've found is to keep the left hand fingers down after fretting the notes instead of lifting them after each note is played when ascending. This cuts back on unnecessary motions. My question is regarding decending runs. Do you fret all the notes at once and then lift each finger off as you play the note or do you play a note , lift finger, then drop next finger on the next note. Ex: if you were to play a run on the high e string from A to G to F# to E. would you put all three fingers down in one motion then release as each note is played? Or would you play A with say the 3rd finger then lift then drop the 2nd on the g? A little hard to explain but maybe someone here will know what I'm talking about.

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    formerly Philphool Phil Goodson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Fretting hand technique

    If I were able to do it, I'd put all the fingers down in the correct places and then lift each one as you describe. I've done that with chromatic runs. (Like the start of Jethro's Tune.)
    Most of the time, I can't place all those fingers accurately at one time and just change them individually. But I always try to leave as many fingers down as possible.
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    Default Re: Fretting hand technique

    Quote Originally Posted by Philphool View Post
    If I were able to do it
    Yep. Crisp descending runs are my nemesis. Having to place fingers down first seems even harder.

    But leaving fingers down for me can make or break a tough run of notes

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    Registered User T.D.Nydn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Fretting hand technique

    It depend's where my fingers are,,if I'm on that same string,let's say I was going up,I might have them already down on the string if I was next going to descend,,but otherwise I put one down at a time,,I never place my fingers down first,,but they are not that far off the board at all at any given time..

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    Default Re: Fretting hand technique

    It depends. If it is a written out run or part of the melody of the tune, and I am familiar with the tune or had time to prepare for it, I would tend to place fingers and do the run down removing them.

    If its a new tune I am learning or an ornament i just though of, or something in an improvisation, I tend not to be fast enough or paying attention close enough.

    I am most conscious of placing my fingers in a descending run from the pinky. I tend to place my ring finger anyway whenever i use my pinky, in order to give it strength.
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    Default Re: Fretting hand technique

    Even though it is often mentioned as a good technique and found in lesson books, I don't agree with leaving fingers down while playing ascending scales. I find that my tone, phrasing, and rhythm are much evener when I play each note individually. It would take some kind of special circumstance to do that on a descending scale.

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    Registered User Tom Wright's Avatar
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    Default Re: Fretting hand technique

    For speed we leave fingers in place because they are nearby and useful, but for tone you may deviate if the pace is slower. It depends on the circumstance and is worth working on for speed.

    Downward scale (or other) patterns are inconvenient to do this way if crossing to the lower-pitched string. In this case you do reach across with only pinky (or other) finger, not the whole batch at once. That would slow you down. But you also have the next finger that will be needed coming down just behind, because you can't wait for it to catch up.
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    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Fretting hand technique

    Quote Originally Posted by dbrown101 View Post
    One useful tip I've found is to keep the left hand fingers down after fretting the notes instead of lifting them after each note is played when ascending. This cuts back on unnecessary motions. My question is regarding decending runs. Do you fret all the notes at once and then lift each finger off as you play the note or do you play a note .
    More or less, yes.

    I keep my hand in position on or almost on the neck except for very specific techniques.

    Quote Originally Posted by T.D.Nydn View Post
    It depend's where my fingers are,,if I'm on that same string,let's say I was going up,I might have them already down on the string if I was next going to descend,,but otherwise I put one down at a time,,I never place my fingers down first,,but they are not that far off the board at all at any given time..
    Quote Originally Posted by David L View Post
    Even though it is often mentioned as a good technique and found in lesson books, I don't agree with leaving fingers down while playing ascending scales. I find that my tone, phrasing, and rhythm are much evener when I play each note individually. It would take some kind of special circumstance to do that on a descending scale.
    I have had the opposite experience, and play much better using the supporting fingers rather than one at a time.

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    Default Re: Fretting hand technique

    I agree with David L. The sound is different if you note each note individually, the attack is sharper. As for speed I have played some very fast songs, some maybe faster than I should, but I've never played so fast that I can't note each note separately. Speed is mental not physical once you reach a certain point in your playing.

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    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Fretting hand technique

    Quote Originally Posted by Mandoplumb View Post
    I agree with David L. The sound is different if you note each note individually, the attack is sharper.
    .
    How can that be? The pick is what makes the attack, and the string's sounding length is the same no matter if you use supporting fingers or do not.

    That said, I will sometimes use a single unsupported fretting finger for a vibrato effect.

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    Registered User foldedpath's Avatar
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    Default Re: Fretting hand technique

    Descending runs are my nemesis in Scottish strathspeys, because they're little downward bursts of 16th note runs within a tune of 8th notes, and they come fast at dance tempo.

    Usually it's just a downward run of four 16th notes, but sometimes I'll hit a tune like the "King George IV" strathspey with a double run of eight 16th notes cascading downward. I don't think I'll ever match what a fiddler can do with these tunes, due to the mechanical limitations of mandolin vs. fiddle, but I keep working at it.

    Anyway, to the subject of the thread, I don't leave fingers down before or after, like I might do for something like 8th notes on adjacent strings. Every note in a 16th note run gets an individual fingering, because things are moving too fast and those fingers need to be somewhere else in a hurry.

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    Registered User T.D.Nydn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Fretting hand technique

    Quote Originally Posted by foldedpath View Post
    Anyway, to the subject of the thread, I don't leave fingers down before or after, like I might do for something like 8th notes on adjacent strings. Every note in a 16th note run gets an individual fingering, because things are moving too fast and those fingers need to be somewhere else in a hurry.
    Exactly how I approach this,,except I don't play Irish tunes,but I improvise constantly,often at fast speeds,and I'm not sure where my fingers might be going..just no time to put them down beforehand,,

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    Default Re: Fretting hand technique

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidKOS View Post
    How can that be? The pick is what makes the attack, and the string's sounding length is the same no matter if you use supporting fingers or do not.That said, I will sometimes use a single unsupported fretting finger for a vibrato effect.
    Yes the note is the same, but the same note can sound different depending on the length (sustain) and the "feeling" imparted to it. Yes I used the wrong word when I said attack, that is the way the string is plucked, but that in conjunction with other things put the "emotion" into the music. If I desire a smooth tremble through a phrase I would leave finger down as I moved up or have next finger down as I moved down. If I wanted more "excitement" I would note each note separately maybe shorting the sustain ever so slightly. The notes would be the same but the "music" would be entirely different.

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